Jones Beene wrote:
The end of November is a celebratory day in certain parts of the
world. And the Janus-like seasonal transformation from nice to
nauseous, often gets one thinking about other contrasts and
self-contradictions. As the other Janis oft-opined, Freedom's just
another word for.... "nothing left to loose".
What does that mean, exactly, and shouldn't it be "everything" instead
of "nothing" left to loose?
No, it should not. In fact, between the two versions recorded by Janis
Joplin and the Grateful Dead, the line takes three forms, IIRC, but I
can only dig two of them out of my memory just now:
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"
and
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to do"
Both versions are a comment on the valuelessness of "freedom" from
entangling relationships in your personal life, and have nothing to do
with "freedom" in the sense of "free speech" or other civil liberties.
It's a different kind of "freedom". The point is that if you have your
personal "freedom" it means you have no important relationships in your
life which you must work to maintain, and you have nothing important
which you need to do. In other words, "freedom" is equivalent to being
at a loose end.
"Freedom" from personal ties is what the singer has left at the end of
the song, after Bobby McGee leaves, and it's not worth much.
"Freedom" to sing songs the President doesn't like is another kettle of
fish entirely, and it's worth a great deal.
